“While he doesn’t like to admit it, the Corn Belt beef feeder is feeling the pinch from some new competitors. The big demand for beef during World War II gave his competitors a shove --- in the West, the Southwest, and the South. . . .
“Most spectacular increase has been in California. This West Coast state will feed about four times as many cattle in 1955 as it did five years ago. California now leads all other states in beef slaughter. It has put beef feeding on a factory basis --- finishes out at least two thirds of its cattle in lots that turn 10,000 or more head a year. . . .

“‘It doesn’t make any difference to me whether I’m bidding against my neighbor or a man from California,’ [said] Ed Williams, an Illinois feeder, ‘but I’d just as soon not be bidding against both of ‘em. No question but that competition’s driving prices up in some spots.’

Maureen Ogle

Website of Maureen Ogle, author and historian. Books include Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer, In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America, and Key West: History of An Island of Dreams.